Oatmeal

Is there a secret to cooking oatmeal so that when I warm it up it isn't so mushy? I'd like to take oatmeal to work for breakfast and find that warming it up its like mush. Ive been buying the quick cooking oats.

...nuke it for about 1.5 minutes in the microwave when you get to work. This should preserve the chewy texture.

But keep your eye on it and cover with a paper towel, especially if you're nuking it on high power, because boil-over and expanding air pockets will make a mess if you don't hold your mouth right. Fifty-percent power is probably best.

Try steel cut oats. I soak them overnight and cook in the morning. They tend to boil over in the microwave, so use a way bigger bowl than seems necessary. I use a 4 cup pyrex container for one serving (1/4 cup oats to 1 cup water).

One other thought, have you tried overnight oats? I'm eating some now. I did equal amounts of rolled oats and almond milk (1/3 cup each), some cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a peach. I put it together last night and sat it in the fridge. The oats stay kinda chewy. If you want hot cereal, this wont work....this is good right out of the fridge. You can use any type of milk and extras.

run4kupcakes knows her oats. Like she said, if you like them hot, always use steel cut. This time of year I prefer summer porridge (overnight oats). Just use regular rolled oats, add milk and yogurt and some blueberries and maple syrup and throw it in the fridge overnight. No cooking required. Some more recipes here: http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

run4kupcakes knows her oats. Like she said, if you like them hot, always use steel cut. This time of year I prefer summer porridge (overnight oats). Just use regular rolled oats, add milk and yogurt and some blueberries and maple syrup and throw it in the fridge overnight. No cooking required. Some more recipes here: http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

what an interesting idea... will have to give that a try. thanks for sharing, frank2000!

run4kupcakes - thanks for sharing the overnight oats. I usually like my oats hot but might give them a try cold. Bought some old fashioned oats this morning. Going to try undercooking them and see what happens. Thanks for the feedback.

Also, please let's not delude ourselves. It is a big whopping bowl of starch, little difference from eating straight sugar.

Last time I checked, "straight sugar" doesn't contain protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals.

As Michael Pollan might say, you're confusing nutrition science with nutritionism. Any food can be jacked with vitamins, minerals, etc. Just look at all the crap breakfast cereals boasting "100% RDA" of this or that. As for fiber, eating oatmeal to get that is like eating carrot cake to get vegetables. Yeah, it's in there, but that's only a sliver of the whole picture.

By the way, according to those know-nothings at some place called "Harvard Medical School," oatmeal has a glycemic index around that of Coke.

Guano, please cite some real studies about the benefits of "whole grains" being "well documented." I've never seen any convincing evidence.

Wow, I've definitely been doing it wrong. I eat instant oatmeal every morning thinking I was getting more healthy. It says it has 7g of protein, 6g of fiber, and 1g of sugar. You're telling me this is bad for me? Worse than a can of coke? I'll admit I am clueless to nutrition data for the most part so maybe somebody can steer me in the right direction if this is wrong.

Hah, anyone who derives causality from that Harvard web site needs to go back to school. I'm not saying oatmeal is poison at all, but nutritionally it's pretty much a starch delivery vehicle, with low nutrient density. If the choice is oatmeal vs Rice Krispies, it's an easy choice for the oatmeal. However, given free choice of foods, oatmeal is fairly unappealing, from both a nutritional and flavor standpoint.

Hah, anyone who derives causality from that Harvard web site needs to go back to school. I'm not saying oatmeal is poison at all, but nutritionally it's pretty much a starch delivery vehicle, with low nutrient density. If the choice is oatmeal vs Rice Krispies, it's an easy choice for the oatmeal. However, given free choice of foods, oatmeal is fairly unappealing, from both a nutritional and flavor standpoint.

However, given free choice of foods, oatmeal is fairly unappealing, from both a nutritional and flavor standpoint.

Yeah man. I couldn't care less about the component nutrients of it (and I really don't think of food as a collection of individual nutrients), oatmeal just has no flavor. It's as bland as can be. Give me something spicy that lights my face on fire and kills my breath.

"Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fiber known as beta-glucan. Since 1963, study after study has proven the beneficial effects of this special fiber on cholesterol levels."

"A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as oats, helps prevent heart disease."

"Antioxidant compounds unique to oats, called avenanthramides, help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, suggests a study conducted at Tufts University and published in The Journal of Nutrition."

"Harvard researchers decided to look at the effects of cereal consumption on heart failure risk and followed 21,376 participants in the Physicians Health Study over a period of 19.6 years. After adjusting for confounding factors (age, smoking, alcohol consumption, vegetable consumption, use of vitamins, exercise, and history of heart disease), they found that men who simply enjoyed a daily morning bowl of whole grain (but not refined) cereal had a 29% lower risk of heart failure"

"Type 2 diabetes patients given foods high in this type of oat fiber or given oatmeal or oat bran rich foods experienced much lower rises in blood sugar compared to those who were given white rice or bread."

And on and on and on.

SwillaZilla, that link has dozens of studies documenting the health benefits of whole grains. The only person practicing nutritionism here is you. What's your denomination? Paleo?

Here's what I had this morning: broccoli/cheddar/shaved chicken omelet with Sriracha sauce, brown rice, blueberries, and black coffee.

You guys do have a bottle of Sriracha in your house, don't you??? Please say yes.

Yes. Breakfast without Sriracha is like a day without sunshine.

I, however, don't take time to make such fancy breakfasts or go to a restaurant. I lived in India for several months a couple of times and every single meal was AWESOME. Masala dosa for breakfast, super yum.

I, however, don't take time to make such fancy breakfasts or go to a restaurant. I lived in India for several months a couple of times and every single meal was AWESOME. Masala dosa for breakfast, super yum.

Dude, that omelet took me no more than 10 minutes to make from fridge to table. It takes longer to cook steel cut oatmeal.

Yup, and most of that time is taken up with chopping up the goodies to dump in the omelet. Mmm, think I'll whip one up tomorrow morning.

Do it! I use chopped frozen broccoli that I cook and keep leftovers in a Tupperware, and I use shredded cheese. Beat the eggs with milk, get it heating, toss in the broccoli and cheese, fold, sauce, eat. I have an automatic rice cooker too with which I can make a couple cups and keep the extra in a Tupperware.

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